Audi Q3 vs Ford Puma
What's the difference?

Audi Q3

$58,700 - $84,327

2026 price

View pricing & specs

Ford Puma

$14,990 - $24,990

2021 price

View pricing & specs

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Summary

2026 Audi Q3

2021 Ford Puma

By Stephen Ottley

By Byron Mathioudakis

Safety Rating

Engine Type

Turbo 4, 1.5L

Turbo 3, 1.0L

Fuel Type

Premium Unleaded Petrol

Fuel Efficiency

5.8L/100km (combined)

5.3L/100km (combined)

Seating

Likes

Stylish, premium looks
Well-integrated technology
Good active safety calibration

Strident performance
Driver-focused handling and control
Comfort and refinement

Dislikes

No PHEV option (yet)
A few rattles in our test car
Small back seat

Dreary dashboard presentation
No cheaper base-grade or manual options
Requires 95 RON premium unleaded petrol

2026 Audi Q3 Summary

Replacing a popular model is fraught with danger. Existing customers will tell you they love it, while focus groups of non-customers will tell you why they hate it and sometimes carmakers get caught trying to appease both groups.

Sometimes they’ll make it too big or change too much in the search for more sales and ultimately end up removing the elements that made it popular in the first place.

Which is why Audi has been extra careful with some subtle evolution for this new-generation Q3 SUV and Sportback. This isn’t just a popular model for Audi Australia, it has been the best-selling model for the German brand for more than five years, so getting it wrong would be a disaster.

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2021 Ford Puma Summary

S FAR as makeovers go, Hollywood has nothing on the transformation of Ford's small SUV.

Based on the Fiesta supermini only sold here in sizzling ST form, but using a stretched and widened version of its platform with heavily reworked underpinnings, the strikingly styled Puma is as charming – beguiling even – as its EcoSport predecessor was awkward. And we're talking about capabilities that are more than merely skin deep here.

We're not alone in our admiration – one respected UK publication awarded the Ford a 'car of the year' gong – and after nearly a month with our range-topping ST-Line V (for Vignale), we can understand why.

But the German-engineered, Romanian-made Puma is also a complicated proposition in Australia that requires some context, because it is certainly not for everyone.

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Deep dive comparison

2026 Audi Q3 2021 Ford Puma

Verdict

So is this new Q3 good enough to remain Audi’s number one choice? In a word, yes.

Audi has resisted the temptation that some brands fall into by making too many changes to a proven sales performer. This new Q3 isn’t radically different from the old Q3, but it has improved in almost every way.

It isn’t different enough to widely expand its appeal to a new wave of customers, but there’s no reason it won’t remain Audi’s most popular choice for the foreseeable future.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

Verdict

If a minimum price and maximum interior space are your priorities, then the Puma is not for you. Especially so in the flagship ST-Line V, which may seem too small and a tad cramped compared to, say, a Seltos, C-HR or ASX.

Where the Ford excels, typically, is in the way it encourages the keen driver while cosseting four occupants (and a surprising amount of their cargo). There's a poise and maturity to the way the Puma moves that puts it on a par with or even beyond some premium compact SUVs. Even the styling is a statement. If the badges (and dashboard) were covered, you might be convinced this cat is actually a Jag.

If all that is more important, then the ST-Line V is for you. The very antithesis, then, of the unassuming and unloved EcoSport the Puma usurps.

Audi Q3 vs Ford Puma What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

Audi Q3 vs Ford Puma
What's the difference?